Chapter 536: Fighting the Twin Ghosts
“Cough, cough, cough!”
Lin Bufan knelt on one knee in a pool of blood, coughing up blood repeatedly, utterly exhausted. Not far beside him, the Emerald Rainbow Sword had already snapped into three pieces.
Gao Cuo still hid in the shadows, his complexion equally unpleasant—pale as paper.
Sword Elder’s voice came through: “You took the Heavenly Demon Pill and exchanged it for combat power beyond your limits. The medicinal effect is about to fade. You must quickly find a place to meditate in seclusion. Otherwise, you will fall into an extreme state of weakness. It may even damage your Nascent Soul and reduce your cultivation.”
Gao Cuo took a deep breath. In the pupil of his right eye was reflected Lin Bufan’s figure. “This man is astonishingly skilled at healing. If I possessed a true offensive killing weapon, I would certainly be able to take his head!”
“One final clash!”
Spell—Shadow Misalignment Kill!
In the next moment, within Lin Bufan’s vision, heaven and earth seemed to shake, forming countless shadows.
Tree shadows, cloud shadows, mountain shadows—even Lin Bufan’s own shadow—interwove and overlapped, converging toward him in a deadly assault.
Lin Bufan clenched his teeth and sat cross-legged on the ground, barely managing to form hand seals.
His Nascent Soul had grown extremely dim. He squeezed out the last remnants of his mana, condensing them into countless emerald lights that formed into the shape of armor to guard his body.
“Still not enough!”
After battling Gao Cuo for so long, Lin Bufan clearly understood the enemy’s spell power. He immediately took out a seed from his storage ring.
The seed was directly planted into his abdomen. It rooted in flesh and blood, rapidly sprouting vines.
The intertwined red and green vines reinforced the emerald armor, merging spirit and form into one.
Red Vines, Green Armor!
The overlapping shadow attacks wrapped around the armor, grinding continuously with sizzling sounds.
The armor was sliced into countless fragments, yet with the replenishment of abundant emerald light, it rapidly regenerated.
The two sides fell into a stalemate.
“This fellow only focuses on protecting himself. Even if my shadows drift away from this battlefield, I can’t cause him further disturbance.” Gao Cuo secretly gritted his teeth. His own mana was nearly exhausted as well, and he could only continue to hold on.
He gambled that Lin Bufan had less remaining mana than he did.
If Lin Bufan lost the gamble, he would die on the spot.
But if Gao Cuo lost, he could still withdraw calmly.
Yet just as this deadly struggle was about to determine the final victor, a crimson rainbow streaked across the sky.
The crimson rainbow suddenly halted. After letting out a soft sound of surprise, it descended.
“This place is strange!” Within the crimson rainbow, a figure gradually appeared—a female cultivator. Her body was large and burly, tall and imposing, dressed in a red palace robe and long skirt.
Gao Cuo immediately recognized her. “Immortal Red Sleeve? This is bad.”
In the next moment, Immortal Red Sleeve directly cast a spell that bombarded the seemingly ordinary valley below.
Gao Cuo was already at the end of his strength. If his power were intact, he could have relied on illusion techniques to continue concealing the battlefield. But now he was powerless. He could only watch as the illusion was broken, revealing the battlefield’s true appearance.
Sword Elder sighed deeply. “I didn’t expect Red Sleeve to see through your illusion. Impressive! Her primary cultivation art is the Mountain-Moving Giant Strength Art. That technique shouldn’t possess such detection ability. She must be carrying a powerful treasure.”
Gao Cuo clenched his teeth. Blood seeped from the corner of his mouth. He cast one final glance at Lin Bufan.
“Retreat!”
The moment he moved, Immortal Red Sleeve sensed it and looked suspiciously toward his location.
“Hmm?”
In the next instant, spells poured down like a torrential rain.
Gao Cuo immediately activated talismans and escape techniques. His speed surged, and in the blink of an eye he vanished beyond the horizon.
Seeing his speed, a look of surprise appeared on Immortal Red Sleeve’s face.
She did not pursue him and instead landed in front of Lin Bufan.
Lin Bufan still attempted to resist, but Immortal Red Sleeve easily subdued him and captured him alive on the spot.
“Wait.”
“Immortal Lady, I possess countless riches. Could you spare my life? I will repay you with wealth.”
But Immortal Red Sleeve instead smiled and transmitted with spiritual sense: “Lin Bufan?”
Lin Bufan was slightly stunned.
In the next moment, Immortal Red Sleeve knocked him unconscious.
When he awoke again, he found himself inside a natural mountain cave.
Heavy footsteps echoed.
Soon after, the enormous figure of Immortal Red Sleeve appeared from around the cave corner, holding a bowl of porridge.
“Drink this bowl of porridge. Your injuries will recover quickly,” Immortal Red Sleeve said.
Although she looked large and rough, her voice was soft and delicate.
Lin Bufan stared at the spirit porridge, unable to discern her intentions. Just as he was thinking, another cultivator entered his sight.
When he saw the newcomer, Lin Bufan was overjoyed.
“Detective Zhu!”
The person was none other than Zhu Xuanji.
Zhu Xuanji nodded with a smile. “Sect Master Lin had me searching for quite a while.”
Lin Bufan immediately relaxed, realizing that Zhu Xuanji had rescued him.
With lingering fear he said, “I encountered a true expert. His illusion techniques were the most extraordinary I’ve ever seen.”
He briefly described the battle.
Throughout the entire fight, Lin Bufan had been placed in an extremely passive position. Gao Cuo’s Misaligned Shadow Separation had caused him endless trouble. Several times, his own flying sword had even been redirected toward himself.
“What a shame!”
“That person nearly pushed me into death several times, yet I still don’t know his appearance—nor even whether he was male or female.”
Lin Bufan sighed deeply and accepted the spirit porridge from Immortal Red Sleeve, taking a sip.
Immortal Red Sleeve said, “The battle in Thousand Peaks Forest has attracted far too many cultivators. Encountering a few hidden experts is nothing strange. Sect Master Lin survived great danger—good fortune will surely follow.”
Zhu Xuanji’s expression turned solemn. “To force Sect Master Lin to such a state, this person must indeed be a top expert among Nascent Soul cultivators.”
“However, he concealed himself from beginning to end. That may mean he has another identity.”
“If he is not a righteous cultivator from outside Thousand Peaks Forest, then he must be someone from within Thousand Peaks Forest.”
“But we won’t worry about him for now.”
“Sect Master Lin, recover quickly. We have something even more urgent to do!”
Lin Bufan gulped down the spirit porridge while looking at Zhu Xuanji with confusion.
Zhu Xuanji said, “The Heaven and Earth Twin Ghosts have already gone to ambush the Three Generals Camp. They intend to capture Ning Zhuo alive.”
Lin Bufan’s expression changed drastically.
“The Heaven and Earth Twin Ghosts are famous Nascent Soul experts. Either one of them alone far surpasses the mysterious enemy who nearly killed me.”
“Even if Ning Zhuo is strong, he only possesses Golden Core–level combat power. How could he possibly withstand the Heaven and Earth Twin Ghosts?”
Zhu Xuanji replied, “That’s why we must hurry to reinforce them.”
Lin Bufan hesitated and looked at Zhu Xuanji and Immortal Red Sleeve.
“Just the three of us?”
—
Thousand Vine Talisman Heavenly Corridor.
Ning Zhuo’s mechanical army advanced along the left route, sweeping forward relentlessly.
Ignoring losses and empowered by battle formations, wherever the mechanical army passed, they crushed everything like splitting bamboo.
The Three Generals Camp marched along the mountain slopes, slowly following beside the corridor.
Each time Ning Zhuo seized another section of the corridor from within, the vine-leaf talismans outside immediately lost their response and their defensive abilities vanished.
Thus the Three Generals Camp merely followed behind. Liu, Guan, and Zhang remained fully alert, ready to reinforce Ning Zhuo at any moment.
When they had attacked Ten-Li Burning Forest earlier, they had encountered the unexpected calamity of the Fire Crown Divine Cedar God.
Based on that experience, they suspected this Thousand Vine Talisman Heavenly Corridor might contain a similar threat.
However, as Ning Zhuo’s mechanical army pushed forward almost to the end, they had not encountered any deity.
Aside from the initial clashes, the cultivators remaining in the corridor offered little resistance. Many simply scattered and fled.
Some even knelt down on the spot and surrendered.
“At present, the resistance has been very weak.”
“Our decision was correct. By deliberately staying in Ten-Li Burning Forest to rest for a few days, we allowed the news to spread.”
“Strongholds like Ten-Li Burning Forest and Thousand Vine Talisman Heavenly Corridor mainly cultivate resources rather than function as major powers. Many cultivators will retreat immediately after hearing the news.”
“Still, we must remain cautious. It could be the enemy pretending to be careless. Only when we fully occupy the entire corridor can we truly relax.”
“That’s right. Perhaps the Dragon Ginseng King secretly nurtured a deity here as well.”
The four of them—Liu, Guan, Zhang, and Ning—maintained constant communication through magical instruments.
Just then, an unexpected change occurred.
Behind Ning Zhuo, a faint blue icy mist suddenly appeared.
From within the mist extended a white skeletal claw that lunged toward Ning Zhuo’s back like lightning.
At that instant, it seemed as though Ning Zhuo had grown eyes on the back of his head. He immediately rolled forward, narrowly avoiding the claw.
His spiritual sense covered the entire mechanical army, naturally allowing him to detect what was behind him. But even with that detection, his own reaction speed alone would not have been enough.
A moment earlier, the Mechanical Ring in his hand had given him a powerful warning.
That was the real reason he avoided the ambush.
Yet even after dodging the first strike, Ning Zhuo remained in danger.
After rolling only three steps away, icy mist appeared on both sides of him. From within it emerged two skeletal figures.
Three skeletons, all radiating Golden Core–level auras, surrounded Ning Zhuo and attacked simultaneously.
At this critical moment, Ning Zhuo dodged frantically while summoning mechanical fists and legs as emergency shields.
Under the enhancement of the Warrior Returns Art, his combat power had already reached the Golden Core level.
The close-combat techniques he had diligently practiced at Myriad Medicines Sect allowed him to evade most attacks. The remaining strikes were blocked using the mechanical limbs.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
These mechanical fists and legs were not high-grade items. Ning Zhuo had crafted them back when he was still in Myriad Medicines Sect.
After a few exchanges, they were all destroyed, shattering into fragments on the ground.
The inner walls of the Thousand Vine Talisman Heavenly Corridor were now covered in claw marks, many of which pierced completely through.
The attacking skeletal assassins struck with restrained yet vicious attacks. Even the corridor’s Golden Core–grade material was easily torn apart.
Suddenly, the three skeletons halted, extending their arms and pointing their palms toward Ning Zhuo.
Ning Zhuo’s heart jumped with alarm.
In the next instant, countless frost currents gathered together, forming an extremely violent ice explosion.
Boom!
This section of the corridor was shattered as enormous ice blocks burst outward.
But in the next moment, brilliant green light shone within the ice, and towering trees exploded into existence.
The tree canopy grew dense like a gigantic umbrella, completely covering this section of the corridor.
Thick vines lashed outward like giant pythons, striking the skeletal figures and sending them bouncing through clouds of dust and shockwaves.
Ning Zhuo hid deep within the canopy, leaning against the trunk while panting heavily.
The sudden ambush had forced him into desperate evasions. Only now did he finally catch his breath.
If those bone claws had truly struck his body, his defensive methods would likely have ended up the same as the corridor walls.
“Using three Golden Core skeletons to ambush me? Which cultivator inside the corridor hates me this much?”
Under the cover of the canopy, he finally had time to observe the skeletons carefully.
Their skulls resembled inverted triangular mantis heads. Across their foreheads were three spiral ice horns arranged horizontally. In their eye sockets burned icy blue ghost flames.
They hunched forward, their thirty-six spinal segments lined with reversed blades. Their limbs were long, joints covered in ice spikes, fingers and toes shaped like piercing ice blades.
Their rib cages shimmered with icy light, occasionally flashing with the shadows of defensive talismans.
Their tailbones extended to the ground, forming long bone whips covered with barbs. Several times during the ambush, Ning Zhuo had nearly been struck by those whips.
Ning Zhuo’s pupils relaxed slightly as recognition dawned.
Snowbone Rakshasas!
But just as he recognized them, firelight appeared at the edge of his vision.
He turned his head and saw that the entire Three Generals Camp was engulfed in flames.
These flames were unnatural—yellow-green in color, emitting eerie wailing sounds as they burned.
Ning Zhuo recognized them instantly.
Spell—Netherfire Infernal Prison!
He had personally experienced its power before—during his battle with Qi Bai in Huoshi Immortal City.
“Could it be… someone from the Soul-Devouring Sect?”
“With flames of this scale, it must be at least a Nascent Soul cultivator.”
“The Heaven and Earth Twin Ghosts!”
Ning Zhuo’s heart sank heavily.
After the Grand Decisive Battle, the Heaven and Earth Twin Ghosts had used Ghost Gate and were immediately identified by the Liangzhu Kingdom army.
Naturally, Ning Zhuo knew this intelligence.
“The Heaven and Earth Twin Ghosts are famous Nascent Soul experts across many nations. Even if the Three Generals and I combine our strength, we won’t be their match!”
With the leverage of his mechanical army, Ning Zhuo could exert Golden Core–level combat power.
The Three Generals Camp, fighting together, could contend with Nascent Soul opponents—but roughly at the level between Ma Feitui and Tu Ming.
Yet either of the Heaven and Earth Twin Ghosts was acknowledged to be stronger than Tu Ming.
Tu Ming possessed the divine ability Myriad Serpents Poison Flow and was a Nascent Soul True Lord.
The Heaven and Earth Twin Ghosts were both True Lords—and each possessed more than one divine ability!
“Be careful. The enemy is very likely the Heaven and Earth Twin Ghosts!” Ning Zhuo urgently transmitted to Liu, Guan, and Zhang.
Just after sending the message, he suddenly looked up.
A white ice meteor was falling from the sky.
The frozen meteor dragged a howling wind as it crashed downward.
Ning Zhuo quickly gathered his mana and cast the Wood-attribute spell Pine Waves and Verdant Tide in counterattack.
The sound of pine waves roared. Vast emerald light surged like a great sea and slammed into the white ice meteor.
But it was like waves striking a reef—the meteor remained unmoved, only its momentum reduced by thirty percent.
Ning Zhuo immediately cast Tree Realm Descent.
The ground bulged upward as countless trees and vines burst from the earth. Towering trees rapidly rose, forming a wall-like defense.
Wood Element—Bamboo Joint Resilience!
Ning Zhuo reinforced the trees with another protective layer.
This spell had once been used by Linghu Jiu. With his deep mastery of the Wood element, Ning Zhuo had comprehended it after seeing it only once.
Now he had completely replicated it.